SEATTLE NEWS ARCHIVES & FEATURES

We are at war for our country but not with family, friends

Feb 23, 2017, 8:26 PM

family...

Politics and family is like a Gordian Knot. You loosen one side of things and the other side gets tighter.. (jgbarah, Flickr)

(jgbarah, Flickr)

Do you find yourself in a Gordian Knot? You loosen one side of things and the other side gets tighter.

We are in a war for the country, a cold civil war. When you think about your relationships with family and friends, am I far off in saying that?

Related: Milo Yiannopoulos needs to step back and take a breath

The Gordian Knot is when you think, “maybe I should hold off on my political beliefs.” But if you tighten your political beliefs, your ties to your family and friends can loosen.

Our family and friends are not our enemies, but they may be our opponents.

Part of the conundrum is that Washington D.C. benefits from a divided country — that’s where it gains power. And the dividers want us at each others throats.

I’ve been thinking that our life experiences need to tie us together, even if we politically disagree. We need to engage with our friends and families and ask our friends if they see, in us, the Conservatives they know as racist.

Ask your friends, “do you see me as racist, greedy, corrupt?” It’s a pattern-interrupt question that may help return people to a little bit of sanity and get people down from an emotional cliff.

If we don’t do this, things are going to continue to ratchet up and get hotter and hotter.

As always, please listen to the full audio clip for complete context.

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We are at war for our country but not with family, friends